IoTFlow Tutorial: Create an API Key and Set Up Alerts (with Video)

Short version: in IoTFlow, open API Keys → Create API key, copy the iot_… key (it is shown only once), and send readings to /api/telemetry with Authorization: Bearer <key> plus the device’s deviceId in the JSON body. For alerts, open Alerts → Create rule, pick a device, metric and threshold (for example temperature > 30), and the alert appears within seconds of a reading crossing it. Both buttons need the Admin role — if you see “Ask an administrator to create a key”, that is why.

This question came from one of our own trainers preparing an IoT class, so we recorded the whole flow end to end on a demo account. Watch the 90-second video, then follow the written steps below.

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Before you start: why the buttons are missing

IoTFlow has two roles. Regular User accounts can add devices, build dashboards and send data, but only Admin accounts can create API keys and alert rules. On a User account the Create API key and Create rule buttons are hidden and the page says “Ask an administrator”.

Ask your IoTFlow administrator to change your role to Admin under Admin → Users. It applies within about 30 seconds — just refresh, no sign-out needed. Admins also see an Admin | User toggle in the top bar; keep it on Admin, or the create buttons stay hidden. If you run your own self-hosted copy of IoTFlow, the first account you seed is already an Admin.

API key or device token: which one do you need?

IoTFlow accepts two kinds of credential on the same telemetry endpoint. For a single board, the device token is simpler — it is what the built-in tutorials use.

How to create an API key in IoTFlow

1. Sign in at iot.tertiaryinfotech.com.
2. In the left menu, click API Keys, then Create API key at the top right.
3. Type a name you will recognise later, such as Classroom sensors, and click Create.
4. Click Copy straight away and store the key somewhere safe, such as a password manager or your script’s config file. It starts with iot_ and is shown only once: IoTFlow keeps only its prefix.
5. Click Done. The key now appears under Your keys with its prefix, creation date and when it was last used.

Lost a key, or pasted it somewhere public? Click the bin icon next to it to revoke it and create a new one. Anything still using the old key stops sending data immediately.

How to send data with the API key

1. Open Devices, click your device and copy its Device ID (for example class-sensor-01). This is the short public ID, not the long internal one.
2. POST your readings to /api/telemetry with the key as a Bearer token and the Device ID in the body:

curl -X POST https://iot.tertiaryinfotech.com/api/telemetry 
  -H "Authorization: Bearer iot_YOUR_API_KEY" 
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" 
  -d '{"deviceId": "YOUR_DEVICE_ID", "temperature": 27.4, "humidity": 63}'

The same call from Python, which works on a Raspberry Pi or any laptop:

import requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://iot.tertiaryinfotech.com/api/telemetry",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer iot_YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={"deviceId": "YOUR_DEVICE_ID", "temperature": 27.4, "humidity": 63},
)
print(r.status_code, r.json())

A successful call returns HTTP 201 with a body such as {"ok":true,"deviceId":"class-sensor-01","stored":2,"alerts":0}. Every number in the body becomes its own metric — here temperature and humidity — and appears on the device page and the Telemetry page straight away.

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How to set up an alert in IoTFlow

An alert rule watches one metric on one device. The device must have sent at least one reading first, because the Metric list is built from data it has already sent — until then it shows “No telemetry yet”.

1. Choose the right project in the selector at the top of the left menu. The Alerts page only lists devices in the current project.
2. Click Alerts, then Create rule.
3. Enter a Rule name (for example High temperature) and pick the Device.
4. Choose a Condition: greater than, less than, greater or equal, less or equal, equals, or device offline.
5. Pick the Metric and type the Threshold, for example temperature greater than 30. For device offline you enter how many seconds of silence count as offline instead (the default is 600 seconds).
6. Click Create rule. It appears under Alert rules, already enabled; untick it to pause it or use the bin icon to delete it.

Test the alert, then resolve it

Send one reading above the threshold — for example "temperature": 34.5 with the command above. Within a few seconds the alert appears under Active alerts, and in the mobile app. Click Resolve once it is handled. While an alert is active the same rule will not raise duplicates; after you resolve it, the next reading that crosses the threshold raises a new one.

Alerts always show on the Alerts page and in the app. To push them somewhere else — Telegram, Slack, email or a Google Sheet — add an automation on the Automations page with the Alert trigger, which forwards each alert to an n8n workflow.

Get the IoTFlow mobile app

• iPhone and iPad: search for IoTFlow on the App Store, or open IoTFlow on the App Store.
• Android: the app is in Google Play closed testing, so it does not appear in a Play Store search yet. Contact us with the Gmail address on your phone and we will add you as a tester.
• Sign in with the same email and password as the website. The app connects to iot.tertiaryinfotech.com by default. If you registered with “Continue with Google”, set a password first with Forgot password on the website, because the app signs in with email and password.

The app mirrors the web dashboard: live widgets, switches and sliders that control your devices, your device list, alerts and automations.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Keep going

New to IoTFlow? Start with our earlier post, Build Your Own IoT Backend: IoTFlow, a Self-Hosted Platform with a Python SDK, then follow the full tutorial with copy-paste snippets at iot.tertiaryinfotech.com/tutorials.

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